How to Sound Like Lana Del Rey: The Vocal Sound, Explained
Published · by Loopin
How to sound like Lana Del Rey: a plain, gently compressed vocal feeding a lot of different reverbs and delays, some of them distorted after the reverb. Keep the chain simple and put the character in the sends.
Start from what her team described
Sound On Sound’s Inside Track on Lust For Life (Paul Tingen, October 2017) is the best source. Producer Dean Reid and engineer Kieron Menzies explain that her vocal sounds were usually set up early, with her input, and that she was very involved at every stage. As a starting point on the vocal, Reid described a de-esser, an EQ (Avid’s EQ3 7-band or a Waves SSL channel), a UAD LA-2A or Waves CLA-2A, and a Waves C4 multiband working harder on the lows and low-mids than the top, which brightens by contrast.
The character lives in the effects. The vocal aux list includes an H-Delay, an Avid Reverb One hall, an AIR Spring, an EchoBoy quarter-note delay with a Pro-Q2 cutting mids, a Valhalla VintageVerb plate, a Valhalla Freq Echo, an EchoBoy 16th-note slap, and a “girl group” VintageVerb set long at 3.6 s. They also often put saturation after the reverb, for example a Decapitator after the Valhalla. Earlier, per SOS’s Robopop feature, the released “Video Games” was the rough mix that had already gone viral.
Hear it on these songs
“Video Games” (2011): a low, close, unhurried voice over piano and strings, with a big space around it that never covers the words. “Love” (2017): the Lust For Life sound, with a dry-sounding lead up front and long, lush tails behind it, like a ’60s record played through something newer. “Mariners Apartment Complex” (2018): sparser and more natural, with delay and reverb blooming mostly at the ends of lines.
Across them: a lead that stays intelligible and forward even when the song is drenched; several spaces at once (short slap, medium plate, long hall); a slightly vintage, rounded top; and some grit or bloom inside the tails, not on the voice itself.
How to sound like Lana Del Rey: build the sends first
1. Keep the insert chain plain. De-ess, high-pass at 80–100 Hz, and use an opto-style compressor (the LA-2A type) for 3–5 dB. If the voice sounds processed before any send is up, you’ve done too much. 2. Build three spaces. A slap delay at a 16th note, low in level, for thickness. A plate around 1.5–2 s for body. A long “girl group” reverb, 3–4 s, for the dream.
3. Filter the delay’s mids. Put an EQ after the quarter-note delay and dip 1–3 kHz by 4–6 dB so the repeats sit behind the words. That echoes the Pro-Q2 move on the EchoBoy. 4. Distort after the reverb. Add a saturator on the long reverb return, after it, not before. The tail gets dusty while the lead stays clean. 5. Ride the long reverb. Push it up at the ends of lines and in gaps and down under dense words. Our reverb vs delay guide covers when to use each.
A Lana Del Rey vocal chain, as starting points
Inserts, in the order Reid described with generic types: de-esser at 5–8 kHz; a corrective EQ with a high-pass and a 2–3 dB dip wherever it’s boxy; an opto compressor for 3–5 dB; a multiband compressor pulling 2–3 dB from the 150–500 Hz range only on loud notes. The plug-in names and aux list are sourced. The numbers are our starting points, apart from the 3.6 s reverb.
Sends: a 16th-note slap about 15 dB under the lead; a quarter-note delay with mids cut; a plate at 1.5–2 s; and a long hall or vintage reverb at 3–4 s with saturation after it. Pre-delay of 30–60 ms on the long one keeps the words clear. Low-pass all returns around 6–8 kHz so the space sounds vintage, not glossy.
Why a Lana Del Rey vocal preset won’t get you there
Most presets stuff all that space into one reverb on the vocal insert, and the words disappear. Her team’s setup works because the vocal is clean and the space is spread across several sends, each with its own job, ridden through the song. A static preset can’t ride anything.
It also can’t sing low, slow and close, and her delivery does as much as the effects. Fix the performance and the send structure first. Balancing a dozen returns against a live arrangement is exactly the kind of work Project Jade is being built to do.
Set up three sends and listen
Ten-minute version: plain inserts, then a slap, a plate and a 3.6 s reverb with a saturator after it. Ride the long one up only at line ends, and compare with “Love” at matched volume. For a much drier, closer approach to intimacy, see how to sound like Billie Eilish. Loopin isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Lana Del Rey; the name is used only to describe a style.
Project Jade is our agentic mixing product, currently unreleased and waitlist-only: drop in your rough mix, get back a studio one. Want your track mixed toward this kind of sound? Join the Project Jade early-access list.
Frequently asked questions
What reverb does Lana Del Rey use?
On Lust For Life (2017), Sound On Sound lists several, including Valhalla VintageVerb (a plate, plus a 'girl group' reverb set to 3.6 s), an Avid Reverb One hall and an AIR Spring, alongside EchoBoy and H-Delay delays.
What is Lana Del Rey's vocal chain?
Dean Reid described a starting point of a de-esser, an EQ3 or SSL-channel EQ, an LA-2A or CLA-2A, and a Waves C4 multiband. Most of the character comes from the effect sends, not the inserts.
Is there an official Lana Del Rey vocal preset?
No. Presets usually cram everything into one insert reverb. Her team used a simple chain feeding eight or more separate reverb and delay sends.
How do I get the vintage Lana sound without drowning the vocal?
Keep the lead clean, use 30-60 ms pre-delay on the long reverb, low-pass the returns at 6-8 kHz, and put saturation after the reverb, not on the voice.
Was Video Games mixed professionally?
According to Sound On Sound's Robopop feature, the released version was the rough mix, because it had already gone viral in that form.